Exploring Brighton’s past and how trainees can teach about history in schools

Brighton has a diverse history and plenty of scope to remap what pupils see when they walk through it. Drawing on the research done by volunteers at Brighton and Hove Black History our intrepid group of (Secondary) History PGCE trainees recently took part in a field trip locally, trekking across Brighton town unearthing its hidden and no-so-hidden past.

Student teachers began in Woodvale cemetery, walking past elaborate Victorian tombs to discover the gravestone of Thomas Highflyer a 12-year-old boy from East Africa who was rescued from a slave dhow and went to school at St Mark’s primary in Brighton. How he ended up in Brighton is a mystery, and can be investigated by pupils who learn about the degrees of certainty historians use when making claims about the past.

The trip also uncovered the experience of Indian soldiers who were hospitalised at Brighton Pavilion during the First World War, the famous Sake Dean Mohammed who put Brighton bathing on the map, the visit to Brighton of Haile Selassie and what that can tell us about the failure of the League of Nations and the extraordinary mission of three Kings from Botswana who won over the people of Brighton whilst trying to campaign for protection from the notorious Cecil Rhodes.

Gabrielle Rowles, History course leader said “There are many other little corners of the town which all have stories to tell. We know that pupils love stories as a way of understanding local, national and international events and getting out and about is a good way to hook them in and make the information memorable. A local trip is also much cheaper to organise for cash-strapped schools.”